Roller skate wheel



V i- 1946 v c. M. BIERMAN 2,392,633

ROLLER SKATE WHEEL Filed Aug. 24, 1944 INVENTOR C41? 0LL M B/ERMAN ATTO R N EY Patented Jan. 8, 1946 [TE-D STATES PATENT ROLLER sir-ATE WHEEL 'car'rou MJBi'erman, Franklin square, N. r. 1 Application Augu'st 24, 1944,- SerialfNo. "55 13030 sola'imsQ (-o1.301 -.5.7)

paratively low cost, and be readily adjusted for wear from time to time by the user.

I These and other featurescapabilities andadvantages of the invention will'appear from the subjoineddetail description of one specific embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which y Figure 1 isan enlarged side elevation of a wheel made according to the present invention with a part thereof broken away.

o'iFigure-L Fig.3 is an enlargedfexplodedview of jth'e bearing parts .in perspective.

Fig. "4 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the bearingiparts.

In the embodiment shown, there is illustrated or the" like fibrous-material, its outer-contour and recesses 5, 6, chambers 1 and 8, andcentral open in'g inthe'dependent-wall 'zmay'with facility be turned onthe average wood lathe; 1f the main wheel' l were composed of'a plasticyits outer'contour as well as its chambers could be pro'duced by molding, and in turn if the wheel I were composed of metal, it might even be drawn.

-It is, of course, understood that 'whileit'm'ay be preferable tohavethe wheel member. l "composed of'wood or the like fibrous "material, thiswheel l couldbecomposed of-other'materi'al "without de Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line -2--2- parting from "the general 'sp'irit of'the "invention, in which case the outer contour as well "as chamberswould'be pro'duced'ac'cording to 'the'preferred practice determined'by" the material or composition of the wheel 'member'l The axle 9 of the truck of a"roller'skate',=pro Vided' with a diminishing portion lo'ha'ving "a thread H "at "its end, is operatively' connected to the wheel member lby thebearing elements-now to be described.

-' In the first place two metal cups-are provided. to wit; the cup 1 '2 and the cup t3 which are similarinconstruction except that-the annular flange I 4 o'fthecup- ['2 has "an inner'diameter-that corre;

sponds to the outer diameter of the fiange -=l5. In ract, the inner periphery of the flange I 4 and the outer periphery ofthe flange I 5 are'machined so that they will have a machine fit with one another as shown in Fig. 2. Furthermore,*as shown in Fig.2, the outerperiphery-of the flange I4 corresponds to theinnerperipheryof the wall l andthe width' of the outer-peripheryof the'flange I' lcorrespondsito' the width of the wall-Zyso that when the cupsl2 andlsare'nested intoon'e another onopposite sides of the wall-L they will a s-- sume the position and relation shownin Fig- 2.

The annular walls [6 and l'l of the cups ['2 and l3, I

respectively, asparticularly shown in Fig .2, pref erably .areiformedtoflare outwardly so that the inner annular faces l8 and: l 9 of theannularweills l6 and H are inclined or cone shaped :for :the

purpose:hereinafter to be described.

"Onthediminishedportion lflofttheiaxle 9 of the roller skate truck-there is mounted the thim.-v ble '20 which has a socket receiving projection :ZI

at one end, an annular ball bearing guide wayr2'2, and an extended cylindrical portion 23 provided with external screw threads. Theguidewa 2 2 is adapted toz-receive thecollar 24 provided in the present instance with three recesses 25 to receive the ball bearings 26. The thimbleZO. in turn'has screw threadedly mounted thereon :the annular roller bearing guide-21 which inturn: has mounted thereon'the .collar 28lsimilar to the collar 24 also provided with three recesses-.29, vin the preseni instance, to receiveballlbearingssuch as the ball bearings 26. "Thecups [2,13, the thimblezll and ball bearing elements "Hand 28 may all beinitially assembledon the wheel I bymerely tightening the. guide'2l on the cylindrical portion '23. To manipulaitethe same, it is only necessary for the attendant'to grasp 'thetprojeotion 2| with a 'wrenchprithe likeand' insert a'screw driver or spanner wrench' into the notches 1 3'0 in the if ace oftheguide'ikseel ig. 4. Preferably theo'ollars 2a, 2a, and walls l8 and I9 are so initially preparedthat a suitable working relation will be establi'shed when the collars 24- and 28 are spaced from thewebs 3| and. 32 of the cups [2 and I3,

respectively.

In, the use of these wheels, in order to take up for wear, it would only be necessary from time to time for the attendant or user of the skate to tighten up the collar 2/! on the threaded element 23' in order to take up any unnecessary play, and merely re-establish the proper rotative .rela tionship betweenthe ball bearings 26 and the cone shaped faces I8 and IQ of the cups l2 and 13, respectively.

After the bearing elements have so been assembled, the diminished portion ll]. of the axle protect the bearing portion adjacent the axle 9 from dust, any suitable-annular member may be secured in the recess if desired, such as the annular disk 38.

In order to anchor the guide 2'lv against accidental removal, any suitable means such as the 9 may bepositioned in the thimble and the nut 33 turned on the threads ,II to anchor the diminished portion I 0 in place in the thimble 20.

The wheel member I can be made reversible bylocating the wall 2 directly in the middle axially, without departing from the general spirit of the invention. In such'case, if due to wear one edge of the wheel I became more worn than the other, it would only be necessary to remove the bearing elements 20, 24,21 and 2 8, andre- 'verse them so that what formerly was the inside lock nut 21' may be provided.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction without, departing from the, general spirit of. the invention as set forthin the i appended claims." 'K' I claim:

'1. In a roller skate, the combination of a tread forming member composed of wood or the like having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, a pair 'of bearing cups, one for each compartment having outwardly flaring bearing surfaces, a thimble having a ball bearing guide and shank, a ball bearing ring having spaced ballbearingpockets and ball bearings mounted in said pocketsbetween said guide the flaring wall of one of said 7 cups with the shank extending through the open whether opaque or translucent, is preferably pro,-

vided with a plurality of pockets or recesses to receive decorative elements, such asthe lightrefleeting stones 31. These stones 31, in order to produce a light reflectingv effect, may be composed of cut pieces of glass with a mirror backing, or composed of quartz or any other suitable light reflecting substance without departing from the general spirit of the invention. When these light reflecting elements 31 are so positioned in the disk 35, during use, when a beam of light is directed on the same, a very attractive light reflecting effect will be produced. When wheels equipped with these lightre'flecting stones are used by skaters, not only the movement of'the feet of the performers may be more easily. followed, but a very attractive light action will be produced to enhance the value of the performance. I l

As aforesaid, when the wheel element 1 is reversed, it is only necessary to remove the frame 34 and disk 35 and position it as an instance in the recess 5, see Fig. 2( In order to facilitate removing the frame 34 from the wheel'member and yet not interference with the protection afforded bythe disk and frame against dust, the

frame 34 may be provided with notches 38, see Figure 1, to receive a spanner wrench, in order to turn the frame 34 'out' of threaded relation 'a dust proof cover, the fit between the frame 34 and the recess 5, 6 when not threaded being. a friction or machine fit' and similarly the fit between the disk 35 and the recess 36 in the frame 34"being afriction or machine fit. In order to ing of the annular wall into the other cup,fa guide screw threadedly connected on theend of said shank, and a ball bearing ring having spaced ball bearing pockets and ball bearings mounted infsaid latter pockets between said latterguide and the flaring walls of the second cup, the

proper bearing on the flaring walls being estab- I lished by the position of the second uide on the shank of the thimble, the'thimble having a central opening to receive the axle of a skate truck and be anchored therein. 3

2. In a roller skate, the combination forming member composed of wood or the like having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, there being an annular recess at the outer edge-of each compartment, a pair of bearing cups, one foreach compartment having outwardly flaring bearing surfaces, a thimble having a ball bearing guide;

and shank, a ball bearing ring having spaced:

. ball bearing pockets and ball bearings mounted in said pockets between said guide and'the flaring wall of one of said cups with the shankextending through the opening of the annular wall into the other cup, a guide screw threadedl'y connected on the 'end of said shank, a ball bearing ring having spaced ball bearing pockets and pallbearings mounted in said'latter pockets between said on the shank of the thimble, the thimble having acentral opening to receive the axle of askate truck and be anchored therein, and disks operatively positioned in the annular recessesto form. dust protectinglcovers for the bearing in the chamber. 1 1 i 3. In a'roller skate, the combination of atread forming member having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, there being anannular reces at .the

outer edge of each compartment, a pair of bearing cups, one for each compartment having outwardly flaring bearingsurfaces, 'a thimble having a ball bearing guide and shank, a ball bearing ring having spaced ball bearing pockets and ball bearings mounted in said pockets between said guide and the flaring wall of one of said cupswitli the shank extending through the opening of the 1 annular wallinto the othercupfa guidescrew or a tread threadedly connected on the end of said shank, a ball bearing ring having spaced ball bearing pockets and ball bearin s mounted in said pockets between said latter guide and the flaring walls of the second cup, the proper bearing on the flaring walls being established by the position of the second guide on the shank of the thimble, the thimble having a central opening to receive the axle of a skate truck and be anchored therein, a metal frame secured in the annular recess of the outer compartment, and a decorative disk secured in said metal frame, and serving as a cover to protect one side of the bearing from dust.

4. In a roller skate, the combination of a tread forming member having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, there being an annular recess at the outer edge of each compartment, a pair of bearing cups, one for each compartment having outwardly flaring bearing surfaces, a thimble having a ball bearing guide and shank, a ball bearing ring having spaced ball bearing pockets and ball bearings mounted in said pockets between said guide and the flaring wall of one of said cups with the shank extending through the opening of the annular wall into the other cup, a guide screw threadedly connected on the end of said shank, a ball bearing ring having spaced ball bearing pockets and ball bearings mounted in said latter pockets between said latter guide and the flaring walls of the second cup, the proper bearing on the flaring walls being established by the position of the second guide on the shank of the thimble, the thimble having a central opening to receive the axle of a skate truck and be anchored therein, a metal frame in the annular recess of the outer compartment, a light transmitting disk mounted in said metal frame, and light reflecting stones mounted in said disk.

5. In a roller skate wheel, the combination of a tread forming member having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, a metal cup in each compartment having a flaring bearing wall, a thimble having a guide and having a shank extending through the opening in said annular wall into said other compartment, 9. guide screw threadedly mounted on the end of said shank, and rings having spaced ball bearing pockets and ball bearings mounted in said pockets between said guides and'flaring bearing walls, the thimble having a central opening to receive the axle of a skate.

6. In a roller skate wheel, the combination of a tread forming member having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, a metal cup in each compartment having a flaring bearing wall, a thimble having a guide and having a shank extending through the opening in said annular wall into said other compartment, a guide screw threadedly mounted on the end of said shank, rings havin spaced ball bearing pockets and ball bearings mounted in said pockets between said guides and flaring bearing walls, the thimble having a central opening to receive the axle of a skate, there being an annular recess at the outer edge of one of said compartments, and a disk mounted in said recess to cover the bearing portion in one compartment and protect it from dust and the like.

7. In a roller skate wheel, the combination of a tread forming member having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, said annular wall having a central opening to receive the axle of a skate truck, two metal cups having telescoping flanges, one cup fltting into each compartment and the telescoping flanges disposed adjacent the inner periphery of said annular wall, the flanges forming bearings for one another and one flange form ing a spacing stop between the two cups, said cups having bearing wall flaring outwardly and bearings mounted in said compartments for the axle of the skate truck, said bearings including guides with annular recesses mounted on the axle, annular rings with spaced ball bearing pockets, and ball bearings mounted in said pockets between said guides and flaring bearing walls being adjustable in said compartments to take up for wear and the like.

8. In a roller skate wheel, the combination of a tread forming member having an axial chamber, an annular wall dividing said chamber into two compartments, said annular wall having a central opening to receive the axle of a skate truck, two metal cups having telescoping flanges, one cup fitting into each compartment and the telescoping flanges disposed adjacent the inner periphery of said annular wall, the flanges forming bearings for one another and one flange forming a spacing stop between the two cups, said cups having bearing walls flaring outwardly andbearings mounted in said compartments for the axle of the skate truck, said bearings including "guides with annular recesses mounted on the axle, annular rings with spaced ball bearing pockets, and ball bearings mounted in said pockets between said guides and flaring bearing walls being adjustable in said compartments to take up for wear and the like, there being an annular recess at the outer edge of the outer compartment, and a disk operatively mounted in said recess to cover one side of the chamber.

CARROLL M. IBIERMAN. 

